Henchmen
The Henchmen (unofficial) first appear in the "Yellow" Trailer under Junior Xiong's command. They later appear to be under the command of the wanted fugitive Roman Torchwick, but he claimed to have paid for them. It is later revealed that Roman formally contracted them from Junior, but was disappointed with their results and has since moved on to an alliance with the White Fang instead. They first appear in the series proper in the episode "Ruby Rose", fighting and losing yet again to Yang Xiao Long's sister Ruby Rose. They are seen in their regular workplace in "Painting the Town...", where Yang visits their club to get information from Junior. Both fortunately and unfortunately, they remember (fear) her quite vividly. Appearance Each henchman is dressed in a black suit with a matching hat and shoes, red sunglasses, and a red tie, with a small amount of variation. All of them have black hair with some having a black mustache as well. They all also seem to have the same skin color. However, one henchman, serving as a DJ for the club, has a more elaborate appearance. He wears a large bear mask, which covers his whole head down to his neck. The mask is black with red ears, eyes, snout, and a red outline. The red also seems to have a glowing effect. After Yang starts a confrontation and incapacitates most of the henchmen, he pulls out an SMG and wildly shoots at Yang. Yang, however, jumps up and kicks him against the wall a few feet behind him. She then follows this up with a punch before smashing his head into the record table and, in one swift motion, uses Ember Celica to shoot him in the chest and launch him onto the dance floor, incapacitated. This causes his large bear mask to fall off and roll away. History In the "Yellow" Trailer, the Henchman are present in Junior's club when Yang Xiao Long enters. When Yang attacks Junior by grabbing his genitals, Junior's Henchmen come to his aid and continue to watch Yang even after she releases him. When Yang launches Junior across the room, his Henchmen rush in to attack but are easily defeated by Yang in a short amount of time, despite their superior numbers. The Henchmen were seen under Roman Torchwick's command in the episode "Ruby Rose". They assist Roman in robbing a Dust shop, called From Dust Till Dawn, of all its Dust. One Henchman, when going to fill up a Dust canister, spots Ruby and attempts to rob her. After realizing Ruby can't hear him, he catches her attention and attempts once again to rob her. However, this attempt ends in him being knocked out across the store. Another Henchman pulls a gun on Ruby, so she kicks him through the store window. Upon seeing this, Roman orders the remaining henchman to attack Ruby, but they are all quickly defeated. Roman sarcastically comments that they were worth every cent of what he paid for them. Their fate beyond this point is unknown since Junior later remarks that he never saw them again afterward. In "Painting the Town..." the henchmen are seen helping a smiling Junior set up the Club when two of their members come running in and shut the door behind them in a panic while babbling incoherently when Junior asks what's wrong. The two are then sent flying by a small explosion as Yang enters the building. All the henchmen subsequently point guns at her and Neptune Vasilias. Junior hurriedly makes his way through them, shouting for them not to shoot, before nervously coming up to Yang and asking why she's back. She casually says he still owes her a drink before dragging him through the crowd of henchmen to the bar. Later, when Junior states aloud that he could relate to Torchwick's disappointment with the men he contracted from Junior. The henchmen are seen either standing or walking dejectedly near the entrance in response. A henchman can be seen in the crowd of spectators of the Vytal Festival Tournament with a bucket of popcorn in "It's Brawl in the Family". Later, in "PvP", when Cinder hijacks the tournament broadcast, a henchman can be seen in the crowd of spectators holding a bucket of popcorn. Powers and Abilities 1101 Ruby Rose 04968.png|The red-bladed weapon used by many henchmen. 1101 Ruby Rose 04151.png|A henchman using a handgun. B3ar2.png|The submachine gun wielded by the DJ. The henchman appear to be at the bottom rung of their organization and rely heavily on numbers instead of actual skill. They are shown to be no match for Huntsmen of any skill and are usually taken care of in short order. In terms of weaponry, some of the henchmen fight using a long single-handed axe, while others fight with an extended cleaver that possesses a glowing, red colored blade, somewhat resembling Adam Taurus' blade, Wilt. The henchmen under Roman's command did not use axes, instead wielding a handgun of some kind as well as their usual red-bladed swords. Some henchmen (including the masked DJ at the club) are also seen using automatic firearms, similar in appearance to the real-life Thompson submachine gun. Trivia *Melanie and Miltia Malachite are assumed to be higher-ranking members, being close to Junior himself. *The Henchmen themselves may be a reference to The Axe Gang, a semi-fictional group of gangsters who have appeared in numerous Hong Kong action movies, such as Kung Fu Hustle. *Written on their axes is 空頭, written in the traditional Chinese format (the simplified Chinese form is 空头) which can be translated as "bear" (a financial term also known as short). This could be the name or symbol of the group, considering there was also a DJ with a bear mask at the Club and is an additional reference to the story of Goldilocks. Also, it can mean "empty head", a joke on their incompetence. *After their defeat at the hands of Ruby in "Ruby Rose", Roman sarcastically says, "You were worth every cent, truly you were". It is confirmed in "Painting the Town..." that Roman made a deal with Junior to hire some of his goons, which also explains Roman's appearance in the club in the "Yellow" Trailer. *The henchmen in "Ruby Rose" were voiced by two kids from the Make-A-Wish Foundation.RWBY Volume 1 Cast Commentary References Category:Enemies Category:Human Category:Junior's Club Category:Antagonists